This is the first in a series of “fact sheet” posts aimed at helping members of the public and their family members understand the criminal appeals process.
“Can I appeal my conviction?” is the question on most defendants’ lips after being convicted. The truthful answer is that it is difficult to appeal a conviction, and only a small number of appeals succeed. It is important to have this in mind when considering an appeal. The types of situation in which you can appeal will be set out in another post. This post looks at the process for bringing an appeal against conviction.
If you have been convicted by a jury then any appeal will be considered by the Court of Appeal (CA), which sits in London. An “application for leave to appeal” must be sent to the Crown Court using form NG. It should be lodged within 28 days of the conviction. This is important, as it can mean preparing to appeal the conviction before you have been sentenced. The time limit does not run from the date on which you were sentenced. In some cases the CA can extend the 28-day time limit, but it should never be assumed that it will do so.
I will be setting out in another “fact sheet” the type of things that you should be including in form NG.
After the CA receives the paperwork it will collect together any documents that it thinks the judge will need to see. This will include the indictment, and may include transcripts of the evidence and the trial judge’s “summing up” (his/her directions to the jury).
Your case then will be considered “on the papers” (without a hearing) by a single judge. If s/he thinks that you have an arguable case then s/he will grant permission to appeal and send the case to “the full court”. This means a hearing in open court before 3 judges of the CA. In some cases the judge might be unsure whether to grant permission, but will send the case to the full court anyway. In many others, permission will be refused.
If permission to appeal is refused on the papers you can renew your application before the full court. This can be risky. If the CA thinks that the application is hopeless it can make what is called “a loss of time order”. This means that some of the time you have served in prison will not count towards your sentence. In other words, you will serve longer in prison.
The possibility of such an order makes it all the more important that, wherever possible, you seek legal advice before renewing an application, and indeed before making an application. In other posts I will discuss the availability of legal aid for appeals and give some hints and suggestions for the benefit of those appearing “in person” (without a lawyer).
Matt Stanbury, Appeals Barrister
